smile, and smile
by Bread Jacobs
Summary: Gotham's Batman takes an interest in Tokyo's Kira, and vice versa. Joining the Kira Task Force, Batman finds himself making unlikely and unlikelier alliances as the status quo is violently overturned.


L slowly ate peach-flavored yogurt with a tiny silver spoon. The Kira Task Force was making a conscious effort to think outside the box.

With a sigh over a steaming bowl of some late lunch, one of our exasperated heroes whimpered**, "Have we considered the possibility that Kira is not a Tokyoite?"**

**"Most of his crimes are Tokyo-based, though..."**

**"Yes… but perhaps he's an outsider with a grudge against Tokyo,"** another followed, continuing the thought. "He could very well not even be Japanese."

A pause settled over the Task Force as their thoughts explored this foreign path. **"Well… I don't think we can put it past Kira. No, he could very well have had the foresight… to kill from afar."**

"**Agreed. Kira won't go around killing people for his own convenience. He'll hide his personal benefit and details about himself as much as possible."**

"**So shall we speculate? Kira, living god-knows-where, realizes he can kill anyone anywhere. He kills people in Tokyo, but why? Does he have special access to information on Tokyo criminals? Why not start at home?"**

"**Why Tokyo, I don't know. But if he's killing for so-called moral reasons, he could start anywhere."**

**"If that's the case, though, he might start with the worst criminals in the world, or with a city with a high crime rate."**

**"Bigger and more criminal than Tokyo? Gotham."**

**"Of course, America! Many of Gotham's criminals are far more terrifying than ours. Why hasn't Kira targeted them?"**

L found his time to speak. **"Kira is likely behind the deaths of five incarcerated Gotham criminals."**

**"Oh."** The group fell silent with mental "of course"s for a moment. **"Back to the outsider theory, what if Kira **_**is**_** one of Gotham's criminals? Many are terribly quick-witted as well. I'm reminded of Edward Nigma, the Riddler. He's absurdly intelligent."**

**"Nigma,"** said L, delicately rifling through some papers, **"is an obsessive-compulsive madman. He's fixated on Gotham's vigilante, Batman, and while he is a brilliant criminal mind, he's crippled by his obsessive urge to leave clues. His subconscious wants to be caught."**

**"Kira left clues, did he not? 'L do you know Shinigami love apples?'"**

**"That message was hardly a clue in the vein of the Riddler. At any rate, Nigma has never shown an interest in any cause outside of small-scale criminal activity in Gotham, amounting to nothing more than his compulsive cat-and-mouse game."**

**"L is right," **someone conceded, giving up on the intriguing fantasy. **"Their MOs are completely different."**

**"At any rate, Gotham's Batman has the city's criminals entirely under contro-"** L, struck with an idea, fell silent and slumped into an uncomfortable-looking position. He stared into space for a moment, before slowly offering his thoughts: **"What if Gotham's Batman **_**is **_**Kira?"**

The team grasped for comparisons. **"The Batman and Kira are both… vigilantes. They hide behind a more-or-less public persona. However, the Batman is notoriously... quirky. He doesn't use guns, nor knives, and he never kills. Perhaps Kira is an arm of Batman, an outlet for his frustration."**

**"I know if I were Batman, I'd be tempted to kill criminals. They're trying to kill me, I don't see why I should hold back."**

**"Especially since he's not technically allied with the Gotham Police."**

**"Precisely. Batman and Kira work outside the law to cleanse the streets of criminals. However, as Batman, he doesn't kill." Speculating, "Perhaps he asks himself, why do I put up with this?"**

**"So by day, as Kira, he kills the criminals of Tokyo, a city of comparable size, as a way to vent his frustration with crime and with the Batman persona."**

L chimed in again**. "Thinking now, it's not altogether a bad theory. I think it's wrong, but not bad."**

**"And why's that?"**

**"There are times when we've had Kira on the rocks. He's been scared of us. I'm almost certain Kira has been in Japan, and it's very likely that he lives here. If Batman has resources enough to decimate criminal activity in the two biggest cities on the planet, and to travel back and forth just to visit and commit a few murders, then he has very little to fear from us. **

**"I also believe Batman holds back from executing Gotham's criminals because of a moral imperative, he believes criminals shouldn't merely be killed. This is starkly at-odds with Kira's view. Batman is not Dr. Jekyll. As interesting as such a suspect would be, I'd place his likelihood of being Kira at less than 1%."**

**"However, even at less than 1%, his character is worth exploring. I don't know much about Gotham's Batman, simply because there are no records. I haven't heard his voice, I don't know his name. Give me a few hours."**

* * *

><p>"<strong>Watashi no…" <strong>he yawned, repeating after the "Teach Yourself Japanese" tutor on-screen. Cruising thousands of feet over the sea, miles from anyone, the billionaire's only company glowed out of the giant flat screen built into his self-piloting jet. **"…namae wa Bruce Wayne. Easy stuff."** A ringing cellphone was ignored as Bruce tweaked his accent between sips of something strong, easing his sore muscles into an overpriced chair. Besides, no one of value would be calli—

The tutor faded away into a blackletter uppercase L on an off-white background. Minor static didn't obscure the symbol. A dull hum accompanied the pirate signal, and Bruce stood up startled with his drink, perplexed. A distant voice cut through the tension.

**"Hi."**

A tiny blue light turned on above the screen, confirming that Bruce was being watched. **"...Lucius?"**

**"Sorry, no. Just L. It's nice to speak with you, Mr. Wayne."** The voice came through very clearly... it reminded Bruce of someone he'd worked with long ago, a great detective he'd never seen but only heard, a young man named Eraldo Coil.

But that investigation was Batman's adventure, and Bruce Wayne was not Batman.

**"Nice to meet you, as well,"** welcomed Bruce, feigning the cordiality of an overconfident playboy. **"I wish I knew how you stole my signal... that's not true. I wish I knew how to sue you for stealing my signal. I don't think I can file a suit against a letter."**

**"Lucky me!"**

**"You sound British... what did you say your name was? L? That's not really a traditional name, though, is it?" **Bruce sat again, sure L and Coil were one and the same, and a bit more than worried that his former comrade had deduced Batman's identity. If anyone could do it, it was Coil.

**"A traditional name? I don't know."**

**"And you sound young. Younger than me, at least."**

**"I am."**

**"Are you worried my people could track down your information based on the information you're leaving in my servers?"**

**"Not really. Please, Mr. Wayne, rein in your dogs for a moment and relax. I have only one question and I'll be out of your hair forever."**

Wayne didn't care for these terms, but his attempts to contact the real Lucius Fox were being jammed. **"I've got no other option, here, L. Shoot."**

**"Where are you going?"**

**"Côte d'Ivoire, the Ivory Coast. I'm meeting some friends."**

**"You're going west."**

**"I'm taking the scenic route."**

**"Unfortunately Mr. Wayne, this brings up another question. And while I said I would only ask one question… as you said, you're in no place to deny my requests. At least I already know the answer to this question."**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Are you the Batman?"**

Bruce had predicted this question, and had decided the appropriate response was a quick, puzzled, **"Batman? No."**

**"Really?"**

Followed by a chuckling, **"Yeah, I'm not. That was a bad question. Hell, I'll give you another one, for free."**

**"Okay. Are you the Batman?"**

**"No. Still no."**

**"Perhaps I can change your answer. I'm L, as I've said. We've actually worked together once before, except I wasn't L, I was Eraldo Coil, and you weren't Bruce Wayne but Batman. You're Batman, I can see and hear that you're Batman. Give me another twenty minutes and I'll have stone proof to distribute. You lied to me and to the press about going to Africa... so you're coming to Asia on business. The fact you said anything at all to the press suggests you're going on Batman business, not Wayne business, and if you're coming here as Batman it's got something to do with crime. And, really,**" he added, pausing to retrieve the last pretzel crumbs from the bag with a wet finger, **"the only business for a crimefighter **_**here**_** is to hunt down Kira."**

**"Hm. Fascinating. I'm not Batman. How many times do I have to tell you?"**

**"Fair, fair enough. So maybe you're just really close friends with Batman. At any rate, the Task Force is a bit concerned that Batman might be Kira. Either way, our friend the Batman is too good at fighting crime – and has too great a reputation - to pass up the opportunity to catch Kira.**" He coughed, dryly, once. **"So if you see Batman, tell him to meet me somewhere."**

**"I sure will, kiddo. It's been a nice chat. Get off my plane."**

The connection severed, Bruce made sure not to make any mention of Batman, and wisely so, as L was still watching and listening.

* * *

><p><strong>"Misa, have you heard of the Question?"<strong>

**"What question, Light?"**

**"**_**The**_** Question, the person called the Question."**

**"Um... I don't think so?"**

**"You don't think so? Was that a question or an answer, Misa?"**

**"An answer, sorry. I don't think so."**

**"The Question is a personal challenge of mine. He's a detective, a crimefighter sort of person, from Hub City, America. But he doesn't have a face."**

**"Whoa, creepy! How does he see, how does he talk?"**

**"I'm not entirely sure. I'm sure it's just a mask he wears, but it's definitely a unique sort of mask. I'm interested in trying to take his mask for myself, to protect my face from those with Shinigami eyes."**

**"That'd be cool! So, are you gonna kill the Question, Light?"**

**"I intend to try to kill him. Optimally, Misa, I'll find out his name first, without ever seeing his face, and then I'll write his name in the book. If he doesn't die, I'll set out to find his face, and then have him deliver the mask and kill himself. Then I'll know the mask's limits."**

**"Cool!"**

**"Another interesting case out of America is Clayface, one of Gotham's monsters. Clayface can change his face into someone else's. I want to know the extent of his ability to change his form. For example, let's say Clayface has a friend named X. If Clayface has seen X's face, and Clayface turns his face into X's face, and then I see Clayface, can I kill X by writing his name, picturing the doppelganger? I also want to know the effects of Shinigami eyes on Clayface. And what sort of face would I have to see in my mind to kill Clayface? I consider the monster another personal challenge, and a real danger to us, Misa."**

**"It's a bit confusing, but Clayface sounds scary..."**

**"He is scary, you're right. But we'll get rid of him no problem. Right? Look at me. Right?"**

**"Right."**


End file.
